What are the Assessor's duties?
The Assessor is charged with several administrative and statutory duties;
however, the primary duty and responsibility is to cause to be assessed all real
property within their jurisdiction except that which is otherwise provided by
law. This would include residential, multi-residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural
classes of property. Real property is revalued every two years. The effective
date of the assessment is January First of the current year. The assessor
determines a full or partial value of new construction, or improvements
depending upon the state of completion as of January First.
General Misconceptions About the Assessor's Work
The Assessor does not:
collect taxes
calculate taxes
determine tax rate
set policy for the Board of Review The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes. Taxing jurisdictions such as
schools, cities, and townships, adopt budgets after public hearings. This
determines the tax levy, which is the rate of taxation required to raise the
money budgeted. The taxes you pay are proportionate to the value of your
property compared to the total value of the taxing district in which your
property is located. General Information About the Assessor
Assessors are appointed to their positions by a Conference Board consisting of
the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayors of all incorporated cities
and a member from each school district within the jurisdiction.
A city with a
population of ten thousand or more may elect to have their own assessor.
Assessors are required, by statute, to pass a state examination and complete a
Continuing Education Program consisting of 150 hours of formal classroom
instruction with 90 hours tested and a passing grade of 70% attained.
The latter
requirement must be met in order for the assessor to be reappointed to the
position every six years.
The Deputy Assessor also must pass a state examination
as well as successfully complete 90 hours of classroom instruction of which at
least 60 hours are tested.
The Conference Board approves the assessor's budget
and after a public hearing acts on adoption of same.
The assessor is limited, by
statute, depending upon the value of the jurisdiction, to a levy limitation for
his budget.
Market
Value, Tax Levies and Assessed Values
Tax
Credits and Exemptions
Click HERE for Real Estate Property
Data |

Address of
Assessor's Office:
Madison County Courthouse
112 N John Wayne Dr.
Winterset, Iowa 50273
Hours Office is open:
Monday - Friday
8:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.
Phone Number:
(515) 462-4303
Fax Number:
(515) 462-5888
Office Holder Name:
Joni J Hopkins, Assessor
Employees in
Assessor's Office:
Jessica Aldridge
Chief Deputy Assessor
Ryan Hobart
Second Deputy/Appraiser/GIS Technician
Assessor's Forms:
Downloadable forms
used in the Assessor's office
Assessor's Links:
Iowa Department of Revenue
Property Assessment Appeal Board
Statewide link to Assessor’s websites
Iowa Department of Revenue
Property Tax Page
Other Related Links:
Assessors Appraisal Data |